Today, is the birthday of National Hero of Armenia, former Prime Minister and First Minister of Defense Vazgen Sargsyan. Today he would have turned 61 years old.
According to Vazgen Sargsyan, no economic program, no government, no foreign aid can raise the country unless each of us feels responsible as a master and servant of the Motherland.
“We need a revolution in our souls, in our ideas, otherwise programs and governments will follow one another, but nothing would change.
In each country, there should be at least 20-30 high-ranking officials that consider the public interest, above the personal, be diligent, and followed by the others.
No program, no matter how brilliant it is, can become a reality if there is no faith, unity in purpose, unless each of us thinks that the fate of the country depends on one man and that man is himself. Unless we are convinced that we are the only ones who will build our own home. And finally, it is better to light a candle than to complain of darkness forever.
Let’s help each of us light his candle, and I am sure that in the near future Armenia will come to light,” Vazgen Sarsgyan said in his address to the National Assembly.
Vazgen Sargsyan was born on 5 March, 1959 in the village Ararat of Ararat region of the Republic of Armenia. After graduating from the village high school, he entered and in 1979 graduated from Yerevan State Institute of Physical Culture.
1979-83 Vazgen Sargsyan taught at a secondary school in his native Ararat village.
1983-87- headed the Komsomol Organization of Ararat Cement Company.
Vazgen Sargsyan entered active public life as a writer and journalist.
1985 – became a member of the Writers’ Union of Armenia.
1987-90 – worked for Spring magazine as head of the publicism department.
1987 – received the prize of the Armenian Komsomol for the book “Temptation by Bread”.
The Artsakh liberation war essentially conditioned Vazgen Sargsyan’s further destiny.
From the early days of the movement he was among the freedom fighters as one of the first organizers of the Artsakh liberation struggle.
1990-91 – Under his command he joined the Yerkrapah Volunteer Brigades, was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Defense and Internal Affairs.
He has made a major contribution to keeping the native land and borders free from enemy encroachments, and to the victory of our brave compatriots in the battlefield.
Vazgen Sargsyan has made great efforts in the state construction of Armenia.
Vazgen Sargsyan’s role in the creation of the national army is indisputable.
One of the main features of his essence and temperament was straightforwardness, a feature that was best displayed during the army building.
Under the leadership of Vazgen Sargsyan, the rapprochement of staff officers and Yerkrapah Volunteers was unbelievably in harmony. Initially emphasizing state-of-the-art thinking, he conveyed to his associates from various layers of the society.
1991 – Vazgen Sargsyan was appointed Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia.
1992-93 – the Adviser on Defense of the President of the Republic of Armenia, Presidential Representative in the Border Regions of the Republic.
1993-95 – held the post of RA Minister of State for Coordination of Power Structures.
1995-98 – again headed the Ministry of Defense.
In 1993 he founded the Yerkrapah Volunteers Union, being elected president of the Yerkrapah Union.
1995-1999 – again appointed Minister of Defense. 1998 He was awarded the title of Artsakh Hero and the Order of the “Golden Eagle”.
In 1999 he entered the political field, becoming the leader of the “Republican” Party and then the Co-Chair of the “Unity Alliance”. As a result of the convincing victory of the “Unity Alliance” in the parliamentary elections in 1999 he became the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. Within that short period of time, he displayed new high qualities of a talented public figure.
On 27 October, 1999, the RA Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan was killed in the session hall of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia by criminal conspirator. In December, 1999, he was posthumously awarded the title of the “National Hero” of Armenia and the Order of “Motherland”.
